Morinda citrifolia / Noni / Rubiaceae (Coffee family)

Information

This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Other Names

great morinda, Indian mulberry, beach mulberry, Tahitian noni, cheese fruit

Contents

Analyzed as a whole fruit powder, noni fruit has excellent levels of carbohydrates and dietary fiber, providing 55% and 100% of the Dietary Reference Intakes, respectively, in a 100 g serving. A good source of protein (12% DRI), noni pulp is low in total fats (4% DRI). The main micronutrient features of noni pulp powder include exceptional vitamin C content (10x DRI) and substantial amounts of niacin (vitamin B3), iron and potassium. Vitamin A, calcium and sodium are present in moderate amounts. It also contains oligo- and polysaccharides, glycosides, scopoletin, beta-sitosterol, damnacanthal, alkaloids. (2)

Historical

About 2000 years ago, the ancient peoples of French Polynesia colonized islands throughout the South Pacific. As they made their voyages, they brought with them sacred plants from their home islands. These plants
had within them basic foods, construction materials and medicines used by the colonizers. Morinda citrifolia L (noni) is one of the most important traditional Polynesian medicinal plants. Remedies from isolated Polynesian cultures, such as that of Rotuma, illustrate traditional indications that focus upon leaves, roots, bark, and green fruit, primarily for topical ailments. Anecdotally collected Hawaiian remedies that employ noni fruit illustrate changing usage patterns with shifts in recent times to preparation of juice made of ripe or decaying fruit. (1)
This species was commonly cultivated as a dye plant; the bark contains a red pigment and the roots a yellow pigment used in dying kapa. (3)

Plant Description

Small trees or shrubs 3-6 m tall; stems 4-angled, glabrous. Leaves glossy, membranous, elliptic to elliptic-ovate, 20-45 cm long, 7-25 cm wide, glabrous, petioles stout, 1.5-2 cm long, stipules connate or distinct, 10-12 mm long, apex entire or 2-3lobed. Flowers perfect, ca. 75-90 in ovoid to globose heads, peduncles 10-30 mm long; calyx a truncate rim; corolla white, 5-lobed, the tube greenish white, 7-9 mm long, the lobes oblong-deltate, ca. 7 mm long; stamens 5, scarcely exserted; style ca. 15 mm long. Syncarp yellowish white, fleshy, 5-10 cm long, ca. 3-4 cm in diameter, soft and foetid when ripe. Seeds with a distinct air chamber. Native from southeastern Asia to Australia; in Hawai’i a Polynesian introduction originally cultivated for its medicinal and dye properties, now naturalized in relatively dry to mesic sites, 0-450 m, in solution pits near the coast, disturbed hala forest, dry to mesic forest, and alien grassland, on all of the main islands except not documented from Kaho’olawe. (3)

References

(1) From Polynesian Healers to Health Food Stores: Changing Perspectives of Morinda citrifolia (Rubiaceae), Will McClatchey
(2) Noni, Wikipedia
(3) The Noni Website, University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.